7 Best Brand Videos of 2013

Hard to believe but there’s more of 2013 in the dust than on the road ahead. It seems like only yesterday Ryan Seacrest was rockin’ us into the new year and now here we are knockin’ on August’s door. But unless you’re friends with a wild-eyed scientist who drives a decade-hopping DeLorean, that’s life.

So why not sit back, relax, and enjoy our MONSTER picks for the best online videos from brands so far this year? You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and more precious minutes of 2013 will slip away. Enjoy…

Top 7 Online Videos of the First 7 Months of 2013

Here are our picks for the best brand viral videos of the year so far. We could tell you our choices were determined by a complex and elaborate algorithm, but the truth is we just watch a lot of online videos.

#7 – Harlem Shake Miami Heat Edition (Miami Heat)

One of the strangest trends in recent years—even by Internet standards—the Harlem Shake’s finest moment came courtesy of eventual NBA champions, the Miami Heat. Man this video is weird; but also weirdly enjoyable. With 46 million views and counting, we clearly aren’t the only ones who think so. It also makes a great swan song for the Harlem Shake. R.I.P. Please stay dead.

#6 – Child of the 90s (Internet Explorer)

We’re not huge fans of Internet Explorer. In fact, haven’t used it almost a decade. Firefox and Chrome are just way better. Nonetheless, this commercial from Internet Explorer hit our sweet spot for 90s nostalgia. Hungry Hungry Hippos, Oregon Trail, Super Soaker, Nike Pump Shoes. It’s just a whole lot of fun to watch (for us and 42 million others). But isn’t it also saying IE is a relic of the past? Oh well, it’s a good video.

#5 – Zachary Quinto vs. Leonard Nimoy: “The Challenge” (Audi of America)

This spot from Audi hasn’t received quite as much love as some of the others on the list, but the nerds inside us really dig it. The commercial tied in nicely with the release of “Star Trek: Into Darkness” and it’s got Leonard-freakin’-Nimoy (we’d love to have this guy at a dinner party)! Plus, seeing Old Spock Vulcan neck pinch Young Spock is just a classic meta moment. Whoa.

#4 – Pretty Much Every Video They Make (Old Spice)

No, that’s not the actual title of the video. We just like almost all the Old Spice videos so it was hard to single one out. While Meet Mr. Wolfdog was a pretty great video, our top pick probably has to go to Spice’s recent ads for Fiji soap. The Watermelon video below is amazing for the sheer ridiculousness it packs into a brisk 18 seconds. It also includes a catchy tune that harkens back to commercials of the 80s.

#3 – baby&me / the new evian film (evian)

Listen, we didn’t want to like this video. We resisted with every muscle in our bodies. It’s got dancing babies and everyone knows that dancing babies are almost as vomit-inducing as cat videos. But this video slithered into our brains like an alien slug and the next thing we knew we were smiling. Smiling! While watching dancing-freakin’-babies! It’s not a guilt-free watch, but it’s a solid video. Over 57 million other viewers have also been hypnotized by this clip.

#2 – Skittles Figurines (Skittles)

Like Old Spice, Skittles makes a lot of very weird and often very funny videos. But this one may be our all-time favorite. It’s got the patented strange Skittles world, a nice twist on their “taste the rainbow” tagline (“smash the rainbow”) and—best of all—it’s interactive. That’s right, you can choose which of the old lady’s figurines get smashed. Sounds simple, maybe even a little stupid, but this is why we love the Web.

#1 – Ship My Pants (Kmart)

Kmart, a brand many of us previously believed did not posses an ounce of humor, came out of nowhere in 2013 with not one but two viral video hits. Their follow up to this video, Big Gas Savings, is certainly an honorable mention. But this one came first and blew us all away for a couple of reasons: (1) it’s actually a really funny play on words; and (2) it came from freakin’ Kmart! It goes to show the power of online video—suddenly Kmart’s got some serious brand buzz working in their favor.